Protesters celebrate and denounce US capture of Maduro outside New York court | New York

Dozens of demonstrators from all walks of life gathered outside the federal courthouse in freezing temperatures in New York on Monday to express their views on U.S. charges against Venezuela’s forcibly ousted president, Nicolás Maduro.

While Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges related to international drug trafficking and weapons charges in the heavily security-guarded court, Alejandro Flores joined other Venezuelans outside in cheers celebrating the Latin American dictator’s arrest early Saturday.

Flores, 34, of Caracas, said he was lucky enough to immigrate to the United States more than a decade ago to get an education, but left behind economically struggling relatives. Some live today in buildings affected by the U.S. offensive that led to Maduro being captured and removed from Venezuela by U.S. military force, Flores said.

Flores, who now lives in Brooklyn, said, “The fact that Maduro is in court means that justice has been served. He is the reason why millions of people in Venezuela left their country to find something to eat.”

“I want to see my country free, I want my Colombian wife to visit my country, I want to have the opportunity to celebrate with my family who still live there, but if you ask me if Venezuela is free my answer is: not yet. Venezuelans must decide who they want as president.”

Across from the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, on the other side of the protest site partitioned off by a group of New York City police officers, was activist Izzy McCabe, 21. He had arrived that morning from Seattle, Washington.

McCabe is a member of the Freedom Trail Socialist organization, a fringe communist group from the 1980s.

A few weeks ago, McCabe attended the International People’s Assembly for the Sovereignty and Peace of the Americas in Venezuela, the annual meeting of socialist organizations, along with thousands of delegates from countries around the world.

“I’ve talked to Venezuelans in Venezuela, and they are determined to resist US imperialism because they love their country. They want to control the destiny of their country,” McCabe said.

He added: “I’m here to protest US interference and remind people that there are international laws that must be respected.”

To a playground filled with protesters across the street, Pedro Reyes described how he was shot at by authorities in Venezuela more than a decade ago for protesting his relatives’ job loss.

“HE [Maduro] He deserves to be detained and pay the price for what his regime did to me, my family and my friends,” Reyes said in Spanish.

Reyes said that he immigrated to Argentina with his wife and first child after the incident. In 2021, they crossed the US-Mexico border and sought asylum in the US, still awaiting resolution of their case. The Guardian was unable to immediately and independently verify the details of Reyes’ account.

“Let’s be honest, we are happy that Maduro has been arrested, but this happiness is momentary. There are still people connected to Maduro in Venezuela, and as long as they stay, the country will not be free,” he said. “What is the guarantee that we and my children will be safe if we go back? No one,” she added.

A statement was released by the group Aiding Venezuelans and Immigrants, a community-based organization that helps Venezuelan refugees in New York.

“The primary concern for many Venezuelans in the diaspora was, and still is, the safety of our families in Venezuela. People feared that relatives could face harassment, detention, or retaliation for expressing dissent or simply because family members abroad spoke publicly about the situation,” the statement said.

“There were also serious humanitarian concerns. The collapse of the public healthcare system meant that the disease could quickly become life-threatening. Economically, families were unable to survive on local incomes: the official minimum wage amounts to only a few dollars a month, while basic living costs exceed hundreds of dollars, leaving many in the diaspora to support entire households from abroad.”

Many demonstrators waved Venezuelan flags. Some carried banners saying “Free President Maduro”, “USA, Get Out of Venezuela” and “No war for Venezuelan oil”, while others carried banners saying “Thank you President Donald Trump”.

At a time when emotions were running high and ideas were flowing freely around the world, many protesters in the diaspora who gathered in lower Manhattan remained uninformed about the geopolitics of the event but, speaking to the Guardian, said: “If you want to know what happened in Venezuela, ask a Venezuelan.”